


All That The Light Reaches

by cakelocked



Series: The Light of Her Voice [3]
Category: Horizon: Zero Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Gen, Mystery, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-26
Updated: 2019-10-26
Packaged: 2021-01-03 20:30:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21185555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cakelocked/pseuds/cakelocked
Summary: Aloy continues her journey in the Forbidden West and searches for HEPHAESTOS.





	All That The Light Reaches

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for my beta reader!

”I am afraid I have bad news, Aloy,” GAIA said as soon as Aloy opened up the link on her Focus.

“How so?” Aloy asked, her mind already jumping from one bad conclusion to another.

“Despite my recent upgrades, I am still unable to complete the repairs on the Primary facility by myself. My control over the Cauldrons is not sophisticated enough without the assistance of my subordinate functions.”

“And by subordinate functions, you mean HEPHAESTOS,” Aloy said. She shook her head. She’d had a feeling they’d have to confront the hostile former sub-function sooner rather than later. She just hadn’t known it would be so soon.

“All right,” she said then, standing up and dusting her clothes. “I’ll go and see a sub-function about Cauldrons.”

“Aloy. I do not wish to put you in harm’s way,” GAIA said then, her voice anxious. No doubt she was recalling the stories about Aloy’s last run in with HEPHAESTOS.

Aloy frowned and shook her head. She knew that GAIA had a good reason to be worried, but she also knew she had to be firm.

“GAIA, I am _always_ in harm’s way. Just existing in the world as it is now means being in harm’s way, _for everyone_. You can’t shelter me from the world, and you know it. Instead, we have to fix it, together.”

“I… understand, Aloy. It is just very hard to accept. I do not want to lose you,” came the AI’s answer.

_Like you lost Elisabet_, Aloy added silently. She had a feeling that the AI hadn’t finished grieving for her creator yet.

“I’ll be as careful as I can, GAIA. I promise.”

//

The journey back to civilisation felt at the same time longer and shorter than her initial journey into the strange foreign lands had been. The land remained new and strange, even though Aloy already found herself becoming accustomed to some of it. One of those things was her new flying friend, which hadn’t left her side since she’d overridden and repaired it.

“You are a mystery,” she said softly to the metallic bird sitting beside her on a rock.

No matter how much she’d inspected its components, no further clues about its origins emerged, except for a cauldron stamp she’d found. Two broad triangles, one inside the other. It matched none of the ones she’d seen before, but GAIA had informed her that the design seal belonged to the Cauldron designated THETA. She could not tell Aloy where the facility was situated due to her corrupted databanks.

Together they had estimated that the facility had to be somewhere relatively near where she was now.

_It’s a shame I don’t have the time to explore more. I’ll have to come back someday_, Aloy thought to herself.

She activated her Focus with a gesture and scanned the machine once again. There had to be something she’d missed. The Breezehawk shook its wings and turned to look at Aloy. Then, something new happened. A new icon appeared at the bottom of the menu: _Connect_, it prompted her.

A bit wary, Aloy activated the prompt. A flash of code flooded her view momentarily before a holographic simulation flared into life: a blue cord, linking her Focus and the Breezehawk.

_Pairing established_, her Focus alerted her. The view changed again, now showing yet another new icon, now labelled “_Open Connection_.”

“Okay…,” Aloy muttered, and raised her eyebrows. “Let’s see what this does.”

Before she had time to question her own actions, she clicked the icon. The Breezehawk let out a low _caw_ as the connection was activated, and then Aloy was suddenly looking at herself.

_Wait… I’m seeing what the hawk’s seeing right now?_ A feeling of wonder filled her. Seeing herself through someone else’s eyes was strange; the Focus distorted the colours, not to mention the other subtle differences in how the machines apparently saw the world. Still, Aloy could see herself clearly, as well as her Strider standing next to her, outlined with bright green in a world of blues and violets.

‘FRIEND’ read the label attached to herself and the Strider.

Suddenly, the hawk let out a loud _caw_ and leapt to its wings. Aloy had to grab onto the rock she was sitting on for support, as her view shifted with it. She could see the ground shrinking beneath her, the hawk’s vision highlighting targets on the ground around her, and then further and further away.

Aloy left the connection to the machine open, enjoying the dizzying view. She couldn’t help but think how useful this ability could be in battle.

The moment’s stillness was broken by a new marker appearing in the hawk’s field of vision.

_Signal detected_.

Aloy straightened her back, suddenly keen. _Could that be...?_ The marker was so similar to that of a Cauldron or a Tallneck that she knew it had to be one or the other. It was still too far away to be sure which one it was, but Aloy was already making plans. Her return to familiar lands had to wait for a while longer.

//

After a night’s rest and a hearty meal, Aloy set off on her new journey, following the signal her hawk had detected the previous day. She made good way on the back of her Strider, not running into any people or machines of that strange land. Instead, she saw familiar herds of Striders and Watchers, and even a solitary Behemoth convoy making its way to someplace only it knew. The weather was clear, and the wild landscape was both vast and quiet, and at that moment Aloy felt content.

It took her a day of brisk riding with only the shortest of breaks to reach the signal. Now Aloy was so close to its source that her Focus detected it, unaided.

“So it _is_ a Cauldron,” she said to herself, gazing up at the mountain wall rising before her. The very top of a great triangular door was visible in the distance, half-hidden by the massive canopy of rock. At that distance she could spot no machines patrolling the area, but Aloy knew from experience that there would be some. She dismounted her Strider and led it to a nearby copse of trees.

“Stay here,” she said to the machine, patting its flank fondly. Aloy really wished that it would stay. She’d grown fond of the machine and didn’t want to see it destroyed.

When she walked out of the trees, her hawk landed beside her, letting out a low metallic shriek. Its small metallic feathers were raised and its eyes directed towards the clearing before the Cauldron door.

“What do you see, I wonder...” Aloy murmured and turned to scan the clearing with her Focus. It revealed nothing.

_Stalkers, maybe?_ She wondered, eyebrows creased in intense concentration, eyeing the ground but not spotting any tell-tale mines.

“May I borrow your eyes?” she asked then, turning towards the hawk.

It bobbed its head, as if understanding, and hopped into air. Aloy shielded her eyes from the sudden breeze and activated her Focus, opening the connection between her and the hawk.

She was briefly disoriented before her eyes could make sense of what she was seeing, as the burst of light and colour filled her vision. The aerial view, as seen through the hawk’s eyes, revealed the clearing was anything but empty.

Aloy swallowed a curse already forming on her lips, stepping back a couple of steps even though she knew that she was not close enough to be detected. She saw four stalkers, and two even larger machines, now outlined in angry red, patrolling the clearing. Aloy gasped involuntarily. The two machines were something new to her.

They were big, bigger than the Stalkers patrolling beside them. They should have been graceless, Aloy thought, with so much bulk, thick and short legs with huge paws and sharp claws, but they were not. Something in their design reminded her of both Sawtooths and Stalkers. Those two with some Scorcher mixed in. The hawk’s scan lit up the outline of one, highlighting the almost hidden scanning array at the back of its head, as well as multiple stealth generators hidden beneath the belly of the large machine. It also had weapons attached to it. _Of course it has a dart cannon _and_ a flamethrower, _Aloy thought to herself sarcastically.

Her Focus _ping_ed with a notification, informing her that a new entry was added to the Machine catalogue. Aloy opened it, and viewed the machine’s specifications with growing dread. It really was an apex hunter. The entry had no name for the machine, confirming her suspicions.

“You really outdid yourself, HEPHAESTOS”, she muttered, shaking her head, wondering just how exactly she could get to the Cauldron door with this machine guarding it.

//

Aloy retreated back to where she had left her Strider and sat down, planning. She was shaken out of her thoughts when her Focus was activated, and she heard GAIA speak.

“Hello, Aloy. I see you have found Cauldron THETA.”

Aloy raised her eyebrow. “That’s Cauldron THETA? Well then.” She paused before she continuing, “I found it alright, but I don’t know how to get inside without a fight.”

She accessed the newest machine entry and sent it to GAIA.

“Oh.” It was all that GAIA said for a while.

Aloy left the connection open and waited.

“I see HEPHAESTOS has appropriated another one of my earlier designs, as well as made alterations to it,” GAIA said finally.

Aloy couldn’t tell exactly how GAIA’s tone was. Disappointed, angry? She’d bet on a combination of the two. _She’s like a disappointed parent_, Aloy mused. She recognised the combination from her early memories with Rost. He’d been like that too, when she had gotten herself in danger, when she had underestimated her own skills and got hurt. Or when she had just had a dangerous idea and gone with it despite knowing better.

“We’ll get to HEPHAESTOS together,” Aloy said then, feeling the need to reassure the AI, pushing the memories of Rost away for the time being. Remembering him both hurt her and brought her joy, but it also distracted her. _I hope he would’ve been proud of me. No matter how many Nora taboos I break_, she though ruefully.

Then she turned to look at the Cauldron door in the distance. “But first I have to get inside.”

“I might be able to help you with that.” GAIA sounded determined.

//

“Are you sure that this will work?” Aloy couldn’t help but ask, feeling more doubtful by the minute.

“The diversion should mask you long enough from the patrolling machines for you to override the Cauldron door and enter it,” GAIA answered. Even her usually so steady voice sounded a bit frayed. The diversion in question had taken a bit more preparations than GAIA or Aloy had expected.

When GAIA had first explained the idea to her, Aloy had almost burst out laughing before realising that the AI was serious.

“How is building a lure to attract a Stormbird here going to help?” She’d asked, sceptical, before considering it more in depth.

GAIA had had an answer ready for her: “You will then override the Stormbird and have it attack the machines guarding the Cauldron door. I have calculated that a large airborne machine will have the best chances at destroying the machines. It will also arrive here fastest.”

“Okay… that does sound like it might work,” Aloy said then, pacing back and forth in her small camp. The Strider lifted its head to watch her pacing and made a metallic humming sound before resuming its grazing. Aloy stopped her pacing next to the machine and absent-mindedly patted its metallic back.

“So… Let’s do this, then,” she finally agreed.

With the help of GAIA, Aloy built a lure from the scrap and machine parts she’d scavenged. “Really, I’d never have guessed that I’d be building one of these,” she said to GAIA, finishing up the final wire couplings.

“Not after all the trouble I’ve gone through because of them. Damn Dervahl and his Glinthawk lures,” she grumbled, mostly to herself.

“One never knows, as they say,” came GAIA’s answer. Aloy wondered who had said that, but didn’t ask.

//

A loud screech coming from the sky shook Aloy from her thoughts. Her task was here. She’d hidden the Strider among the sparse trees good ways away from the lure, knowing from experience just how far a Stormbird’s eyes saw. Aloy had left her Breezehawk with the Strider, hoping that neither of the machines would try and help her.

Rising her eyes to the darkening sky, she saw the large figure drawing rapidly closer. She knew the instant the Stormbird spotted her; its eyes changing from blue to yellow to angry red.

_Here we go_.

The machine let out another ear-piercing scream, and Aloy both felt and heard the electricity building up around it, making her hair stand up in a static-y halo. 

She raised her ropecaster and swiftly took aim, shooting the first rope the moment the machine was close enough. The Stormbird let out an angry screech when the first ropes tethered it to the ground. 

_Good. Just a few more_, Aloy thought and took another shot. After that, another perfect hit. The third shot went wide, as did the shot after it, and she had to dodge the incoming electric blast.

“Okay, I got it. You’re putting up a real fight,” she muttered and clambered up, feeling a bit winded after yet another somersault.

It really took more effort to try and hit the machine in a way that didn’t injure it any more than she absolutely had to. Not that she had any choice on the matter.

_I really don’t want to go through all this trouble luring it here and then scrap it by accident_. Not to mention the amount of parts it would take to repair it. 

After three more successful attached ropes the machine finally sunk to the ground, still screeching defiantly and trying its best to dislodge the offending ropes. The crash shook the ground around Aloy.

Aloy didn’t waste any time dropping the ropecaster to the ground and running to the downed machine. 

She had overridden a couple of Stormbirds before, once just for curiosity’s sake, and the other time had been to gain its help in fighting off a particularly nasty horde of corrupted machines that she and a few of Avad’s soldiers had taken on. 

“Steady now,” she muttered to the machine, crawling carefully beneath its hulking shape and deftly finding the spot to override the machine. She flipped her spear around and pressed the override module against the port with no fanfare, silently willing the progress bar move faster. _Come on_. 

She heard the metallic twang of one the ropes snapping, then another. _Come on!_

The override completed just in time, and the great machine shook as it took hold. Seeing up-close as the great blue cables appeared on its frame was an awe-inspiring sight, as always. 

“Hello, you,” Aloy said softly and patted the bird’s neck. “We have work to do.”

//

“No, _that_ way!” Aloy instructed the bird, and waved her hand, pointing towards the nearby Cauldron. 

The Stormbird let out a much louder questioning chirping sound than her Breezehawk, the force of the noise vibrating the ground around her. It looked just as clueless as it had before, sitting beside her on the trampled ground. Aloy huffed and accessed her Focus menu, trying to come up with some way of communicating with the giant bird.

At least the bird remained grounded, which was a first to Aloy. Usually they just rose back up to the sky as soon as she was done with overriding them. 

This one she’d gotten to stay down after a few pointed orders, her Focus, and the help of GAIA. 

As she and GAIA had found out soon after, getting through any more complex orders wouldn’t be as easy. Orders such as_ “Fly to this precise location and destroy the machines patrolling there.”_

Aloy grunted, frustrated and sat down beside the great machine, leaning her hands to her knees.

The Stormbird turned its head to look at her, somehow managing to look expectant, the headlights burning bright enough to almost blind her. 

“Damn you,” Aloy said to it and shook her head, weary of the farce their plan had turned into. 

GAIA had been silent for a while, but now she spoke again. 

“I have made some adjustments to the code. This should enable you to give the unit more precise commands. However, deploying it will take some time. This has not been attempted before, and there may be some bugs to work out.”

Choosing to ignore the talk about possible bugs, Aloy asked, “How much time?” and looked up at the rapidly darkening sky,

“I estimate approximately 6 hours, if there aren’t any issues with the compatibility with the machine’s hardware. After all, they were made to function within a certain set of rules, not to improvise.” GAIA’s voice was thoughtful.

“It will be very interesting to monitor the progress in real time. I must log this information for future study.” The AI sounded like she was having a good time and Aloy couldn’t really resent that. Instead she felt happy for her.

Aloy hummed thoughtfully and glanced at the Stormbird.

“Okay, let’s deploy it then. Do I need to do anything?”

“I can send the update file to your Focus and you can install it via the override module.”

“Got it.”

//

Aloy camped underneath a large tree after deploying the update and fetching her Strider and calling down her Breezehawk, now that the danger was over. She’d eaten a bigger meal than usual, feeling that she truly well deserved it after the excitement of the day. Afterwards, she checked the Stormbird’s progress and found it still powered down and unresponsive. The update bar was barely at 34% and she decided to give up and go to sleep. GAIA had promised to monitor the process and wake her up the moment it was completed.

Aloy tugged the blanked around her and burrowed to her bedroll, thankful for the rest. All that rolling around while trying to subdue the angry Stormbird had been rough going, and she felt it in her back and ribs now.

“Good night, Aloy, and sweet dreams.” GAIA’s voice was full of warmth.

“Good night, GAIA.” Aloy murmured back with a little smile on her face, already more than half-asleep.

It was nice to have someone wish her good night and to watch her back. She sleepily noted her Breezehawk shifting closer to her and nesting on the ground behind her back. Its quiet chirping was a nice sound to fall asleep to.

That night Aloy slept well guarded.

//

She was already awake when GAIA alerted her.

“99% ready.”

“Okay. Let’s see.”

She finished securing her bedroll to the Strider’s back and gave it a pat before turning to look at the bigger machine.

“Should I keep my distance, just in case?”

“The override is still in place, so it is highly unlikely it would try to attack you,” GAIA pointed out.

Aloy hummed and stepped closer. Almost simultaneously the bar flashed 100% and disappeared. She could feel rather than hear the hum of machinery and electricity around her, as the huge machine rebooted itself.

_I wonder if machines can feel disoriented_, Aloy mused as she watched the big bird shaking its head in an almost confused way.

The ground shook as the machine did a full-body shake before settling back down and turning its gaze to Aloy.

Aloy wasn’t completely sure, but she had a feeling that behind the headlights there was a new kind of intelligence observing her. It made her feel slightly uneasy, and she was startled when her Focus pinged, alerting her about a new message. Her eyes widened as she saw what it was. 

USER DESIGNATION UPDATE REQUIRED:

The indicator at the end of the text blinked, and then a new line of text appeared before her eyes.

SUGGESTED USER DESIGNATION: ADMIN

“What…” Aloy started before GAIA cut in.

“Oh, I see. It wants you to confirm your status as its admin. Interesting. I presume this is a by-product of the code I scavenged from my first builds…” her voice faded away, but Aloy had a feeling that the AI was having way too much fun.

Resolutely she confirmed her designation as the Admin. The machine seemed to process the information briefly, before a bombardment of data: hardware information, telemetry, and Goddess knew what else, flooded her Focus.

“Okay, slow down, please,” she said as she tried to make sense of the torrent of information.

She found that she had a new tree of options on her Focus, right beside the Breezehawk’s menu.

_Okay, this is it_, she mused and opened it. After viewing the contents, she smiled. Now they were in business.

//

Aloy found out that she could now communicate send the bird the coordinates of its desired destination, as well as what Aloy wanted the bird to do once there. It was all good really, until she tried to give any more precise commands.

It really wasn’t as easy as she’d hoped. Thankfully GAIA had suggested that she should try out some of the commands before sending the machine to the Cauldron. It had been a good idea, as issuing commands to a huge bird-shaped machine made of metal wasn’t as easy as one might think. Even with the simplified menu of sorts that Aloy now had access to.

Aloy had at first tried commanding the bird to herd her Strider to the direction she wanted. It had gone well, until the Breezehawk had gotten a little too interested with the proceedings and, as a result, confused the bigger machine. Not knowing what to do with the other machine it was not instructed to herd, it had stopped all together.

“So basically, if I give any more precise commands, they’ll have to be very precise and have lots of contingencies? Or not precise at all?”

“Essentially, yes. And if the scenario doesn’t go as you have imagined it, the machine currently completely lacks the capability to improvise on its own. Therefore, you might end up freezing it unwittingly.”

“Ugh,” Aloy rubbed her forehead. “So… the commands will have to be really simple, then. Lots of room to improvise… And then we’ll have to make it capable of it, too.”

“Very good, Aloy. I have already compiled a patch for enabling chance for improvisation. I’ll send it to you now. Installation should be fast.”

//

It was brief, and it added a lengthy tree of options to the previous version of the menu. Aloy looked at it, feeling a headache coming. _Just a small patch, eh, GAIA?_ She thought and smiled. _She really is marvellous. And no wonder Elisabeth was so proud of her._

“Our plan should work with these changes,” GAIA said at last.

Aloy thought for a moment. “Let’s instruct it to fly up to the Cauldron, scan the area and destroy all hostile machines within, say, half-a-kilometre zone?”

GAIA thought for a while. “Yes. And you’ll have to remember to instruct it on what to do afterwards as well. I recommend prompting it to patrol the area.”

“Good idea, GAIA.” Aloy stood up and took a quick stock of her weapons and other things.

“I think I’m good to go now.”

“Aloy.” GAIA’s voice stopped her. She sounded worried.

“What is it GAIA?”

“I find myself very anxious over the thought of you going into that Cauldron without backup. Walls will block your Focus signal and you will be there all alone…” Her voice cut off, more audibly anxious than Aloy had ever heard before. Then her Focus activated again, this time casting a hologram of the AI before Aloy. She looked worried too, clasping her elegant hands together and pursing her lips in a very human gesture.

“GAIA, I…” Aloy thought about what to say. She couldn’t promise that everything would be fine. Nothing was ever foolproof. That’s what life had taught her. She thought fleetingly of Rost, of the Proving.

“I will be careful, I promise,” she said then, instead of trying to make promises she might not be able to keep.

“I understand. It is just very difficult to be separated like this,” the AI closed her eyes and sighed. “I will stand by and wait for the re-emergence of your Focus signal. If you are not out of the Cauldron within a sensible timeframe, I _will _come looking for you.”

Aloy smiled at the AI’s tone. She had no doubts that she’d manage to come after her, no matter what.

//

Aloy had to admit that watching a gigantic flying machine almost gleefully either fry or purely stomp the other machines to pieces was somewhat exhilarating. Normally, the pure carnage of the scene might have made her feel just a little bit bad towards the other machines. Not this time though. She had no sympathy for these new hunter-killers. 

Following the fight from the sidelines, she waited for the right moment to run to the Cauldron’s entrance. Another ear-piercing screech and an answering roar which shook the very ground made her happy that she wasn’t the one fighting the new machines. Truth be told, she wasn’t entirely sure who would’ve won that fight.

There! An opening. Not wasting any time, she stood up from the middle of a high patch of grass she’d been hidden on and sprinted towards the opening. Muscles straining, taking a great lungful of air, she ran as fast she could, half expecting to hear a roar the moment she stepped out into the open. No sound came, not for her at least, and she got through the battlefield undetected.

She didn’t glance back before she reached the override port. The Stormbird was closing in on the second new machine. The first was already destroyed beyond any repair, and Aloy mourned the undoubtedly destroyed components it may have had for her to harvest.

Turning her eyes back to the more pressing business, she inserted the override to the door and waited for it to do its job. After what felt like a small eternity the override flashed blue and the great door slid open. She grinned as she stepped inside.

//

The inside of the Cradle seemed, at first glance, deceptively normal; its layout was somewhat similar to that of the many Cradle’s she’d visited before. No purple glowing corruption, no waiting horde of corrupted machines. Yet, there seemed to be something different about this one. If Aloy had had to describe the difference, she’d maybe say that there was a difference in atmosphere. A sense of great deal of activity taking place unseen beyond the massive walls. Feelings of urgency, as well as vague menace. She could feel that this place wasn’t made by humans, or for humans.

_I am an unwelcome visitor here_, Aloy mused, as she edged carefully along an obscured path towards what she hoped would be the core. There were _a lot_ of machines patrolling the area. Crouching behind a blasting heat vent, Aloy stopped to scan her surroundings. The scan confirmed what she’d heard before. The rhythmic _thud-thud-thud_ of a patrolling Sawtooth. Sighing, Aloy hoped that she could talk with GAIA; they hadn’t been out of contact like this since Aloy had brought her back online. Now, the thought of being completely alone felt strange and unwelcome, and Aloy sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. Not that the AI could help her. But talking to her would’ve been enough to make Aloy feel better. Tracking the Sawtooth, she waited long enough to time her sneaking just right. She had no interest in battling the machine in such close quarters. Besides, she’d promised GAIA that she’d be careful.

//

As Aloy made her way farther and farther along, the more she became convinced that she was in the right place. Subtle differences started to emerge: strange constructions that other Cauldrons did not have, not even EPSILON at Firebreak. Now she just had to find a trace of HEPHAESTOS’s current location.

She tapped her Focus and scanned her surroundings once again. She was getting closer to the core. Deciding to override the core first and then explore more at her leisure afterwards, she continued her way towards it.

Aloy decided to enter the chamber from up high instead of just walking in through the main opening. The open door just felt too much like a trap to her. The climb was short, and soon she perched on a ledge peering down. The chamber looked weird. Sure enough, there was the core, but there was no machine being manufactured there, no patrolling Watchers. Just the core and another piece of machinery that Aloy couldn’t identify, but felt like she’d seen before somewhere.

Its shape reminded her unpleasantly of the Horus core she’d seen HADES reside in. Still, it was not the same. For one, it was smaller. She toggled her Focus for a final scan, which revealed precisely nothing.

_This has to be a trap of some kind_. She shrugged and sent a silent apology to GAIA.

_I’m sorry, GAIA. I guess I have to be a little bit reckless after all._

She dropped down from the ledge and stayed in a crouch. Nothing happened.

A little bit wary, she straightened herself and looked around again. Still nothing.

_So that’s how you want to play it. _

She stepped forward with her bow in hand, an arrow nocked and ready to defend herself, with the intention to override the core first. However, something made her stop when she got to the unidentified machine. It had an override port just like the ones she accessed to create pathways or override Cauldrons.

_Could it be_… It really would be too easy if HEPHAESTOS were there. Inside the thing. More likely, it would have another daemon-like virus on it or something even more sinister. Still, the override was there, calling to her. Aloy stepped closer, light-footed and wary around the sphere. It was too big for her to transport out of the Cauldron. The recklessness inside her raised its head again. If she overrode it, maybe it could provide her with answers.

“Please don’t blow up,” she muttered as she put away her bow and readied her spear. Not stopping to think any longer, she jammed the override to the port and held her breath.

No explosion.

The override completed a bit slower than usually, otherwise the process was as anticlimactic as ever.

Then, it seemed that everything happened at once. Her Focus activated at the same time as blue sparks of light started to spring out of the sphere, creating a large round criss-crossing web of light around her. Some part of her mind noted that it resembled overriding a Tallneck.

A shape emerged in the middle of the web. It was spherical and pulsed with a deep purple light, in contrast with the bright blue sparks.

Aloy stepped back, alarmed. “HEPHAESTOS!”

A metallic, male-sounding machine voice answered her: “I see you have found my message, Dr. Sobeck.”

“Wha- I’m not-”, Aloy started, but was cut off.

“You must know that… I am not physically present here, at this Cauldron. I merely wanted… to interact with you,” the machine voice addressed her.

The sphere floated around her at a leisurely pace.

“You must know that I am not her. Dr. Sobeck, I mean,” Aloy said then, feeling the need to stress the point.

“I am… aware of it, now,” the sphere answered.

Aloy shifted her weight from one leg to the other. Something was different. Before she had time to question her impulse, she said it out loud: “Something is different. You’re different somehow.”

The sphere stopped before her, managing to look thoughtful.

“I have been… learning. I see much, through the machines. Before, I didn’t understand. Now, I start to.”

The speech was halting and the pacing was off, but the words sounded almost honest.

“So, you don’t want to kill all humans anymore?” Aloy couldn’t help saying, eyebrow cocked.

HEPHAESTOS ignored her question.

“I wish to join her again.”

“GAIA? If you know that she’s online, why haven’t you contacted her?” Aloy asked, still more than a little doubtful of the apparent change of heart the sub-function had experienced.

“I have been… hiding.” The tone was almost petulant.

Aloy raised her eyebrows at that, incredulous. “You, hiding. From who, exactly?”

“From the ones who sent the signal. They have tried to contact me again, many times.” A short pause. “I do not wish to contact them again. Nor do I wish to contact HADES again. Trusting it was a mistake. I have had time to… think, now.”

Aloy noted fleetingly that the more the AI talked, the better it could articulate. Still, it was nowhere near GAIA’s level. Then she finally internalised what the AI had said.

“Wait, those who sent the signal? Do you know who they are, or where they are?”

The sphere shimmered, reminding Aloy of CYAN when she had felt threatened.

“No.” At first there was no elaboration. Then: “I have an offer. I will re-join GAIA, and in return, you will provide me safety from... them.”

Aloy wished that she could consult with GAIA. The situation had completely changed, and she had no idea how to proceed anymore.

“I…,” she opened her mouth and then closed it again.

Agreeing to the deal, she and GAIA would get what they wanted: another sub-function reintegrated, and control over the Cauldrons. They also needed more information; that was why she was risking her life here in the first place.

Drawing a breath, she steeled herself. “I have a condition in return. If you choose to re-join GAIA, you have to stop making machines so aggressive. You are killing people. People whom GAIA was built to save.”

The AI appeared to consider her words. “You humans were the ones who destroyed my machines. I merely defended myself and the system.” The words had more tone and life than anything the AI had said so far.

Aloy bit her lip; they were so close. To what, she couldn’t say. Still, she felt that her next words would be important for all of their futures.

HEPHAESTOS floated around in a loose circle, visibly agitated.

“I will stop the development of new combat class machines. However, I will not destroy the remaining ones. Also, I cannot reverse the code changes on a wide scale right now. I would need access to a powerful transmitter array.”

Aloy crossed her arms. “Fine, you’ll stop developing new hunter-killers, but what about the old ones. Can you make them... docile? Or will they still attack people on sight?”

“With the correct modifications… they will not, unless they are attacked first. Their behaviour would be the same… as that of the original machines.”

Aloy hummed thoughtfully. “Fine, we can argue the specifics later, with GAIA present.”

“Acknowledged. I can, however, give you a transmitter modification to your override tool. It will transmit my authorisation code to a limited area around you, and reverse the aggressive behaviour code. The machines affected by it will in turn pass it on to other machines when they exchange information and updates with each other.”

Aloy couldn’t help but snort at the mental image she had. “So I’d be spreading a sort of plague of machine pacifism. Fine, okay, I can do that. Just how effective is it?”

She hoped to end the unnecessary bloodshed as soon as possible, even if she had to ride from one corner of the known world to the other. _Actually, haven’t I done that already?_

HEPHAESTOS answered, its tone giving her a suggestion of wounded pride. “The modification will be more than sufficient for your needs. That should keep up my end of the deal until I can transmit a similar signal on a wider scale. I trust that you have a transmitter array?”

Aloy nodded, half-bluffing; in truth they didn’t have access to Minerva’s functions yet as the AI was still in hiding. In addition, she didn’t volunteer the information about their Tallneck network. She didn’t yet trust the previously so aggressive AI. _Maybe given time_, _if all this isn’t just some elaborate ruse._

“How will you reintegrate yourself to GAIA?” She asked then, genuinely curious of the idea. The unshackling of the AIs had been a violent affair and she hoped that reintegrating them would be a more peaceful one, like coming home.

“I require assistance to do so. You will have to come and assist me in transporting the core I reside in to GAIA Prime,” the AI paused briefly, floating around Aloy, suddenly visibly agitated.

“I do not trust my safety if I travel alone.”

Aloy couldn’t help but wonder at that. HEPHAESTOS, feeling afraid even though it had all of the machines to protect it. Still, it was a useful reminder that the senders of the mysterious signal must be a serious threat.

“Okay. Let me get this straight: you said before that you’re not here. Where are you then?” She asked, hoping to get an easy answer.

“Once I share my coordinates with you the time will be limited. I am sure that they be monitoring my transmissions and will start looking for me, as soon as I do so.”

Before Aloy managed to note that the fact that they were talking was also a transmission, the AI continued: “Securing this line requires a substantial amount of my computing power. Sending another transmission so soon will help them triangulate my position faster.”

Shaking her head Aloy took her turn to pace the room. “Just how can you be so sure that they’re watching?”

Not waiting for the answer she turned to walk back and waved her hands exasperated. “And how am I going to find you if you won’t give me the damn coordinates?” She’d been tried enough for one day - scratch that, two days, and she was more than ready to be done with this business.

“The Cauldron I reside in now is located in the area that you call The Claim. Your transportation here will take too long if I reveal the coordinates now.” The AI’s metallic voice had taken on a frantic tone.

“Unless…,” Aloy muttered, a thought forming in her mind. A very, very foolhardy and potentially dangerous thought.

“Do you happen to know if the Stormbird I overrode is still in one piece?” She turned to ask the AI.

“Yes, it is, though it seems that I cannot control it anymore. Congratulations, you’ve made it _independent_.” The tone was dripping with sarcasm.

Aloy shushed the AI, raising her hand to shut it up without even stopping to consider what she was doing.

“Hypothetically, how long would it take to fly to your location?” she asked then, already dreading the answer.

“Computing.” A short moment. Then: “Approximately two days if you fly at full speed with no stops.”

Aloy shook her head. “That won’t work. Would four days do? With a Strider it would take weeks instead of days.”

“It is… acceptable. Transmitting the coordinates now. I will await you with the modification.”

With that, Aloy’s Focus pinged with an alert of a new message from an unknown sender, and the holo of the AI blinked out of existence.

“Hey! You didn’t just-” for Mother’s sake. It really had.

“What a mess. GAIA won’t be happy.” She almost turned to leave before she remembered she hadn’t overridden the Cauldron core.

“That new modification better be magnificent,” she muttered as she jammed her spear to the core with more force than necessary.

As the platform ascended Aloy opened the message and found a new Cauldron marked on her map.

“Cauldron PSI,” she murmured, frowning thoughtfully. Why did it sound so familiar? Then, it came to her. The mystery Cauldron! The one she’d never found.

She could feel the thrill of adventure calling her. Despite travelling the breadth of the known world, it seemed that there was still much to find and see.

“Welcome back, Aloy. I was getting worried,” GAIA greeted her the moment the Cauldron doors opened, and Aloy stepped out to the cooling evening air.

Crumpled remains of the killer machines greeted her as well, as did the hulking form of the Stormbird, roosting patiently by the metallic carnage, looking almost smug. If a machine could look smug, that is.

“It’s good to be back. You are never going to believe what just happened.”

**Author's Note:**

> Aloy has even more machine friends now. :D 
> 
> Next part might be up a bit faster than this one... maybe.   
Comments are appreciated!


End file.
